how reef safe are lion fish

Yeah it wont mess with the mandarin because mandarins are actually toxic and produce a nasty THICK slime coat that gum's up the inside of the fishes mouth that just tried to swallow it, It only takes a grouper or lionfish swallowing a mandarin 1 time for them to learn NEVER to do that again LOL

 

Didn't think of it that way.

 

With lionfish, the big concern is "size differential", which means that even tho adult fish sizes are compatible, if a lion can swallow another fish, it likely will do so. This is one area where we personally err on the side of caution. We have/had several dedicated QT/grow-out tanks for smaller specimens that wouldn't last long if we were to add them to their "target" tanx.

Are lions worth keeping? Absolutely. Some species are pretty darned easy from the get-go, while others, such as the fu manchu, can be a bit touchy at first.

As for lions staying out in the open, as long as there are no tankmates that spook them, they will generally be there to greet you once they figure out who "the food god" is. Some will even learn to spit water at you to get your attention (we've had a few fuzzies engage in this behavior). All of our fish "come-a-running" whenever they see us.

HTH

 

I completly agree with Greg@LionfishLair and tinctorus. Lionfish are not very agressive, more skitish and will generally swim away from your hand in the tank just make sure you know where they are before you stick your hand in the tank. I would recommend a fuzzy dwarf lion. As far as if they are reef safe all corals and more protected or faster inverts. And generally if the other fish in the tank are at least half the size of the lion ( if not the same size of the lion) you should be good, it helps if the other fish are wide.